As I Lay Me Down
by bamababenv
Summary: Inspired by "As I Lay Me Down" by Sophie B Hawkins. The Avengers have gone missing during a mission. Darcy reflects on her life since her husband went missing, and what it takes to get him back. Clint reflects on his life since he was sucked into another dimension, and he plans out what his reunion with his wife is going to be like.
1. Chapter 1: Darcy

I don't own anything Marvel related, or the song mentioned at the beginning of the story.

I heard this song on the radio the other night, and it gave me the idea for this story.

_"It felt like spring time on this February morning_

_ In a courtyard birds were singing your praise_

_ I'm still recalling things you said to make me feel alright _

_I carried them with me today _

_Now As I lay me down to sleep _

_This I pray That you will hold me dear _

_Though I'm far away _

_I'll whisper your name into the sky _

_And I will wake up happy" _

~ As I Lay Me Down by Sophie B Hawkins

Darcy Lewis-Barton lay in her bed, wide awake watching the sky lighten with the approaching dawn. It was, she thought idly, unseasonably warm for Valentine's day. She sighed, and hugged her pillow closer, we really, it was her husband, Clint's pillow, but she'd been using it as a touchstone ever since Director Fury had told her that the Avengers were missing in action.

Darcy's husband was a super hero, and while she knew that his life was always in danger, it hadn't really hit home for her until she was sitting next to her boss/best friend Jane Foster, who even though she was married to Thor Odinson, refused to change her name, and Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's wife, in a conference room in Stark Tower, watching footage of the team fighting some truly ridiculous robots Doctor Doom had created before they all disappeared in a bright flash of light. S.H.I.E.L.D. and Jane were convinced it was a wormhole, created by a bastardized version of the Bifrost, and therefore Jane's work on with Einstein-Rosen Bridges was going to be the key to bringing The Avengers home.

That was six months ago. Six months without Clint's hugs, or kisses, or smart ass comments, or his voice telling her how much she was loved. Six months with a terrified, and quite frankly terrifying pregnant Jane foster and a ridiculously overbearing Pepper Potts, in the absence of Tony Stark and turned her organizational skills on Darcy and Jane and their lab. And, while this was a huge help to Darcy in getting Jane to take proper care of herself and the baby, it was slightly less helpful when directed at Darcy.

She was well aware of the fact that she hadn't had an entire night's sleep in six months. Sometimes it was because she and Jane stayed up late working in the lab, but most of the time it was because she couldn't sleep without Clint nearby to keep the nightmares at bay, and her current nightmares all centered around losing him forever, something she refused to accept, so Darcy did what Darcy does best: take care of "her" scientists. Technically, Darcy was Jane's assistant, but Dracy had adopted Bruce Banner and Tony Stark after the first few weeks of working for Stark Industries. So, in their absence, Darcy made Jane take care of herself, such as eating appropriately, and actually sleeping. She made Pepper slow down, come out of her office and stop to take care of herself instead of everyone else. And, well, in attempting to take care of Bruce Banner in his absence, she'd done something a little reckless.

Darcy had cornered Nick Fury and Phil Coulson five months ago and demanded that they help her track down Bruce's girlfriend, Betty Ross. Her main argument had been that once Jane got the Einstein-Rosen bridge generator working, and the team was home, each and every member was going to need someone to lean on. Tony had Pepper, Thor had Jane, Clint had Darcy, Steve had his best friend and fellow team member James "Bucky" Barnes, also known as the Winter Soldier, and oddly enough, Natasha had Loki, who'd gotten his act together and joined the team a year ago. But, she'd asked, who does Bruce have? Everyone on the team knew he was still in love with Betty Ross, and Darcy was determined to have Betty there when the team got home. Betty was also an amazing scientist in her own right, and Darcy was sure she could help Jane with the bridge, since both Bruce and Tony were missing from their normal brain trust.

Fury was concerned about Betty's father, General Ross, who was determined to rid the world of The Hulk, even though Bruce was now safe from him and everyone else, via a presidential pardon and immunity through S.H.I.E.L.D. Darcy didn't give a flying fuck who Betty's father thought he was. Betty loved Bruce, and all the research Darcy had done suggested that she wasn't afraid of The Other Guy and had spent years fighting with her father about it, so Darcy was going to find her, offer her the job Tony had promised Bruce he'd give her, and move her into Stark Tower with the rest of them. It took two months to track her down, and another month to establish good contact with her, but seven weeks ago, Betty Ross had escaped her the prison that her father's home had become, and was firmly established in Bruce's suite at the tower.

With her help, Jane had made amazing progress with the bridge, and they estimated they were only days away from getting it to work. Jane was determined to have Thor on this planet at the very least, if not in the delivery room with her in six weeks. This was causing Jane be slightly more obsessive than usual, but in this case, Darcy was right there with her. She wanted Clint home. He'd been missing for six months, which was twice as long as they'd been married when he dissappeared. Once she got him back and in good health, they were taking a month or two off, and spending it some place where it was warm and clothing was optional.

The sun was finally rising and Darcy closed her eyes for a moment and gathered every ounce of courage she possessed as she got ready to face the day. Clint's parting words to her had been a promise to come home in one piece and an extraction of a promise from her to be brave and hold down the fort, so Darcy held up her end of the deal. She climbed out of bed every morning, put on a smile, hopeful that today would be the day that she'd get him back, and took care og Jane, Pepper and Betty.

Darcy was just starting her second cup of coffee after her shower when Jane came waddling into the kitchen as fast as she possibly could. "We did it!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. "We got the Einstein-Rosen Bridge generator running, and JARVIS says he can get a lock on Tony's signal once we get the portal open!" Jane was dancing around the kitchen, laughing and crying at the same time, waving a piece of paper over head.

Darcy let her coffee cup fall to the ground, her mouth wide open. "You can bring them home?" she whispered, her voice breaking on the last word as she too began to cry.

"Yes!" Jane cried, "I really, really think so. This is going to work, I can feel it!" She grabbed Darcy's arm and began tugging her towards the elevator, to the lab. "The machines are warming up, Betty's inputting all of the information we got from the scans we got from the original scene, and JARVIS is pretty sure we can have them back in an hour or so. Fury and Coulson are inbound from the Helicarrier and Pepper is in the lab."

Darcy crushed Jane in the biggest bear hug she could, considering the size of Jane's belly, before they took off running to the lab.

Clint was coming home.


	2. Chapter 2: Clint

"_**It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you**_

_**There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do**_

_**I bless the rains down in Africa**_

_**Gonna take some time to do the things we never had" **_

_**~ Africa by Toto**_

Clint Barton sat atop a rock and looked out over the scene in front of him. There were trees the size of skyscrapers, rocks the size of houses, the sky was the bluest he'd ever seen and the water was clear and pure….it was also completely devoid of people. Six months ago, he'd been sucked through some kind of portal during a fight in downtown New York City, and they'd landed here, in this forest. It was beautiful, but he just wanted to go home, to his wife. He and Darcy had only been married for three months when he disappeared off of the face of the earth, and gods he hoped she was okay. She was his whole world, and he was starting to go insane without her, he missed the smell of her hair, the way she cuddles up to him in her sleep, the way she laughs with her whole body, and most of all, he missed the way she looks when she says "I love you."

Six months. Six god damn months stuck in this forest, with no discernable chance of getting home. Thor was confident that his Jane would figure it out, but as time when on, even he became discouraged. They were out of Heimdal, the Asgardian Gatekeeper's gaze, according to their newest team member, Loki. Lokie had access to his magic, but no access to any of the between world paths. They were stuck here until Jane and S.H.I.E.L.D. figured out what the hell they were doing and found a way to bring them home.

Clint turned around to make a sweep of their campsite, well, it had started out as a campsite, until Loki grew tired of listening to tony complain, and built them a hut, with beds, and a good sized fireplace that they used to cook the game that Clint Thor went out and hunted down. between the six of them, they stayed fed and sheltered, and relatively clean. No running water, but if they hauled the water, Tony had built a shower that they used to bathe, and Loki, who refused to wash his clothes in the creek had used his special talents to spell their clothes to self clean. Clint had sworn though, that when they got home and he'd made sure that Darcy was okay, he was going to take her on month long vacation someplace where the clothing was optional. He was thoroughly sick of his uniform, and while he wasn't too shabby in the looks department, he didn't feel so comfortable going around shirtless when he had to stand next to Captain freaking America and the God of Thunder.

Speaking of Captain America, if he didn't quit making out with Bucky where they could all see them, Clint was going to put an arrow in his knee. Sure, Clint was happy that Steve Rogers and James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes had finally resolved 80 years of sexual tension, but there were three guys on this team missing their wives, and one lonely scientist who was still pining for his old girlfriend in close proximity to them, and they were all very jealous that Steve and Bucky had each other right this minute.

At least Loki and Natasha were discreet and kept that shit in their room, where no one had to see it or hear it. He felt a smirk grown on his face, now looked like a good time to fire a warning shot. He drew one of the plain arrows from his bow, took aim and sunk it right next to Bucky's head, in the tree that Steve had him pushed up against. He laid down flat as soon as the arrow was in the air, knowing they wouldn't be able to see him from where they were, but still getting his point across. Both men pulled their respective weapons as soon as the arrow hit it's mark, before relaxing once they got a good look at the arrow, with it's black and purple fletching. Clint could see steve relax, and then grab Bucky and drag him towards their bedroom.

He climbed down from the rock, snickering, before coming face to face with Loki. Loki simply waved his hand, causing Clint's arrow to return to the quiver before giving him a smile and a nod. Clint nodded back, a grin stretched across his face. While he had had his reservations about Loki joining the team, he'd been pleasantly surprised to discover that the god had a love of pranks, and was willing to work with Clint to pull of some fantastic ones. They worked well as a team, both [refering to watch from a far and take out enemies from the shadows or roof tops, where no one could ever see them coming. They watched each other's backs in battle and pranks, and had formed a solid friendship, despite their past interactions. Plus side, it made Natasha happy to know that her boyfriend and her partner could get along, even if they did drive her crazy sometimes.

The two men walked back towards camp, laughing, to find everyone gathered around a bonfire, talking. Thor was telling yet another tale of some battle he and Loki had fought when they were younger, Natasha, Steve and Bucky listening politely, and Tony and Bruce were bent over some drawings in the dirt, discussing something sciency. Clint and Loki took their places around the fire, and settled in to listen to everyone else.

Clint tried to listen to Tony and Bruce but he quickly zoned out, his mind going back to Darcy. He was dying to see her, and when he did, he was going to pick her up, kiss her, and then carry her back to their room, where he'd proceed to make up for the last six months, SHIELD reports and debriefings be damned. he pretty much figured a week should suffice, at first, before he took her on that vacation. They'd leave their phones off, and the whole world could fall for all Clint cared. He wanted two months, alone with Darcy, no SHIELD, no Avengers, no villains, no crises. In fact, he felt that the whole team deserved that kind of break. Maybe he could convince Tony to take them to his island, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four could defend the world for a few more weeks, they were always begging for more work anyways.

The sound of someone yelling his name snapped him out of his day dreams. Thor was pointing up, and sure enough, there was a portal opening right above them.

"God I hope we're going home"


	3. Chapter 3 - Reunion

Author's Note: This is it. The end of this story. Thank you for reading!

I do have to ask... would anyone be interested in reading outtakes? If there is any interest, I will write and publish them as I can.

Thank you, again!

BamaBabeNV

"_**Another winter day has come**_

_**And gone away**_

_**In either Paris or Rome**_

_**And I wanna go home**_

_**Let me go home**_

_**And I'm surrounded by**_

_**A million people I**_

_**Still feel alone**_

_**And let me go home**_

_**Oh, I miss you, you know"**_

**~ Michael Buble, "Home"**

On any normal day, Darcy enjoyed watching the junior, and honestly, some senior SHEILD agents run around like headless chickens as they leapt to do _Director _Coulson's bidding, while Councilman Fury stood behind him looking extremely pissed off at their inability to move quicker. Today was not a normal day; however and Darcy was more than a bit distracted by her own tasks today, which included watching Jane and making sure the SHIELD agents didn't break her equipment.

Darcy snapped back from her distraction with just enough time to keep Deputy Director Jasper Sitwell from breaking his neck tripping over one of the 500 wires crisscrossing the makeshift lab area they were standing in. "Easy, Agent Sitwell. No one's dying here today." The glare he sent her in return made her wish that she hadn't stopped him. Darcy never could understand why Sitwell was such a jerk to her, except for the fact that she knew he didn't approve of the Avengers or their chosen spouses. He'd been more than a little snide with her since Clint disappeared, and Darcy had to remind herself that tasing him wouldn't solve anything except to make her feel better, and it would piss Coulson off. She'd quietly let Natasha know how Sitwell had behaved while they were gone and then sit back and watch the fun begin, especially once the Avengers found out that Sitwell had wanted to leave them stranded wherever they were. Coulson would be looking for a new Deputy before the week was out once Loki got a hold of Sitwell. If Sitwell was lucky, he'd endure enough to make him quit. If he wasn't so lucky, well, Darcy had heard that psych wards were much nicer than they used to be.

Darcy turned back to the scene before her, choosing to dismiss Sitwell and his lame attempt at a death glare. It wasn't worth the argument today. Today was the day the were bringing the Avengers home, and they were setting up what was essentially Jane's entire Stark Laboratory in the New Mexico desert. In an unanimous decision, the team, i.e. Jane, Darcy, Pepper, Betty, Coulson and Fury, had decided that the desert where Thor had first touched down was the ideal spot. The Asgardian Gatekeeper could keep an eye on them better, and honestly, if they opened another portal over Avengers Tower, the people of New York were going to riot.

Darcy turned her attention back to the scientists, Jane was munching on the turkey sandwich Darcy had shoved in her hand half an hour ago, and trying to program some huge machine, while Betty Ross calibrated another machine beside her. Pepper was standing off to the side, phone in hand, yelling at some poor senator, who'd dare to suggest that maybe the world was better off without Iron Man. Pepper was forcefully reminding him of all the things Tony had accomplished in his lifetime and did the senator really want to live in a world without Stark industries? Darcy grinned when saw Pepper roll her eyes and hang up the phone. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry senator, we must of gotten disconnected." Pepper commented as she threw her phone into her bag.

Darcy was slightly startled when Jane and Betty turned towards her simultaneously and gave her a thumbs up and a wink. Darcy took this to mean that they were ready to start. "Hey Phil, Uh, I mean, Director Coulson," Darcy spoke into the comm unit on her wrist, "I think the Science Babes are ready to begin. Can you clear the area of all non essential personnel?"

"Thanks, Darce." Came his shockingly informal reply. Phil then turned to look at Agent May, and within sixty seconds, the only people remaining in the area were Coulson, Fury, Darcy, Pepper, Betty and Jane. Jane came to stand next to Darcy, and Darcy reached out to grab her hand. Jane smiled at her, before pushing a button on the remote in her hand.

At first, nothing happened, and then suddenly, there was a blindingly bright blue light, and then, there they were. The whole team, sitting around a bon fire, in the middle of the makeshift lab. No one moved for several moments, and then Jane was running, well, waddling, as fast as she could towards Thor. Darcy had to suppress a giggle at the look on Thor's face; he looked really angry for about five seconds before his brain caught up with him. He stood up just in time to catch Jane as she leapt at him. Then they were laughing and kissing and crying.

Betty, seeing that everyone was busy watching Jane and Thor's reunion, took her opportunity to tackle Bruce. She knocked him right off the log he was sitting on and to the ground, with a resounding thud. The noise seemed to be the cue everyone else need to start moving towards their spouses or significant others. Tony pulled Pepper into a hug, while she cried, and Loki and Natasha moved towards Jane, so they could congratulate her properly. Steve and Bucky walked hand in hand towards Director Coulson and Fury, and Darcy couldn't help be relieved that they finally got their act together and admitted their feelings.

Darcy caught Clint's eye through the crowd of people around them, and he simply opened his arms. Darcy took off running towards him, before quite literally jumping on him. After six months of sleepless nights and loneliness, Darcy was finally home. She savored the feel of Clint's arms around her, and buried her nose in his neck, while he pressed his face into her hair. They simply sat there for a few moments, breathing each other in, and then Darcy couldn't breathe at all. Darcy couldn't help but think that this kiss was different that any they had shared previously. It was so soft, and sweet, and she could actually feel Clint pouring six months of longing and love into it. Darcy responded in kind, and it stole her breath pulled apart slowly, with Clint looking at her, his face showing more emotion than Darcy had ever seen from him. She rested her forehead against his, and tried to catch her breath.

"Welcome home, Clint." She whispered, before leaning into kiss him again. This kiss was was explosive. This kiss carried six months of pent up passion and desire. It rocked Darcy's world, quite literally, when Clint picked her up mid kiss, and began to carry her off. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, as he moved to carry her bridal style.

"Please tell me you have a private room."

"Well, we have a private tent. It's just for this afternoon and tonight. Tomorrow, you guys have a couple hours of debriefing, and then we are on a plane to the Caribbean. Pepper has given the team the run of the Stark Estate on St Croix, and we're flying out first, probably with Bruce and Betty. Pepper and Tony have something to take care of, and then they are leaving tomorrow. I'd imagine Steve and Bucky will come with them. Jane's not allowed to go anywhere else once they get back to New York, doctor's orders, so she and Thor will stay here."

Darcy felt more than heard Clint's laughter. "Tony and Pepper really do share the same brain. Tony told us he was going to plan the exact same thing for all of us once we got home, after I asked him if he knew of somewhere we could go to spend some quality time together once we got home. How long do we get before Coulson tracks us down?'

"A month. That gives us all plenty of time to get reacquainted, and still be home in time for the birth of the newest Asgardian prince."

"That all sounds perfect. Now," he began, his voice deepening, "what do you say we take this somewhere a little more private. Everything else can wait until tomorrow. Tonight, I want to show you what I've been thinking about for the last six months."

"That's the best suggest I've heard all day. Lead on, good sir!"

The End.


End file.
